Charter schools after three decades: Reviewing the research on school organizational and instructional conditions

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.31.7364

Keywords:

charter schools, school effectiveness, school organization, educational policy, instructional practices, learning environments

Abstract

Charter school policies have focused on improving three aspects of schools—autonomy, innovation, and accountability—with the intention of promoting advances in curriculum, instruction, and learning that lead to better student outcomes. However, most research on charter schools tends to neglect school organizational and instructional conditions. Overall, reviews show that charter schools have inconsistent effects on student achievement scores, a finding that masks heterogeneous effects among different types of charter schools, operators of charter schools, and authorizers of charter schools and the organizational and instructional conditions under which they operate. This systematic review of the literature focuses on what we know about the organization of charter schools and the resources—material, human, and social as well as professional development and teaching practices—within them. We end by identifying gaps where more research is needed.

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Author Biographies

Julie W. Dallavis, University of Notre Dame

Julie W. Dallavis is an assistant professor of the practice and associate director of program evaluation and research in the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame. Her research interests include school choice, school organization and culture, and school sector differences, and her research employs both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Mark Berends, University of Notre Dame

Mark Berends is the Hackett Family Director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a professor of sociology and directs the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity (CREO). He has written and published extensively on educational reform, school choice, the effects of family and school changes on student achievement trends and gaps, and the effects of schools and classrooms on student outcomes. His research focuses on how school organization and classroom instruction are related to student development, with special attention to underserved students and school reforms aimed at improving their educational opportunities. Within this agenda, he has applied a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods to understanding the effects of school reforms on teachers and students.

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Published

2023-01-17

How to Cite

Dallavis, J. W., & Berends, M. (2023). Charter schools after three decades: Reviewing the research on school organizational and instructional conditions. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 31. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.31.7364

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Articles